US GDP declined at an annualised rate of 32.9% in 2Q 2020, not quite as bad as feared (consensus -34.5%), but this is still the biggest decline on record. For those who prefer non-annualised numbers, it was a 9.5% quarter-on-quarter drop. The details show that consumer spending was the main drag, falling 34.6% annualised, while fixed investment fell by 29.9%, led by a 38.7% plunge in residential investment. Inventory drawdowns meant this component subtracted 4 percentage points from headline GDP. On the positive side, government spending rose 2.7%, while net exports were a net positive contributor, adding a rather ... (full story)